Mockingjay in Captivity
by Desdemona312
Summary: Katniss and Peeta are both captured from the arena after the explosion.  They are now in the clutches of President Snow, who is hellbent on destorying Katniss and squashing the rebellion.  Rated M cause I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

When I finally regain consciousness I am immediately aware that my surroundings are completely different from anything I have ever seen. I try to sit up and am thwarted by sharp metal cuffs that dig into my wrist. The effort makes me dizzy and I start to pass out, when I am thrown back into consciousness by the horrible smell of roses and blood.

I slowly twist my head and see that I am in a hospital room. Sitting in the corner, to my horror, is President Snow. He is wearing the most horrible smile I have ever seen in my entire life. I silence the dread that fills my mind and force my face to look indifferent.

"What? Miss me already?" I say, ignoring the migraine that I could feel pulsing in my temples. What could I possibly do now that could make my situation worse? He would kill everyone I loved. I had ruined his games, and he would ruin my life before taking it. These were the things I knew to be fact now.

"I wouldn't overexert yourself; nasty concussion you have there. You lost enough blood to kill you. Oh, and my condolences on the loss of your child. The electric shock must have caused a miscarriage." He is practically laughing as he finishes speaking.

What I wouldn't give for my bow and just a single arrow right now. I would like to see him try to survive some bloodthirsty mutt monkeys, or outrun toxic gas. He wouldn't beat me in the arena, but we are on his territory now, and he has probably already won.

Fear grips me as I picture Prim being tortured. I push it down, remembering to keep my face indifferent. "I would have been a horrible mother anyway." This is not a lie. The pregnancy was a lie, but this, this was the most truthful thing I have said since the reeping over a year ago.

Snow laughs and lifts himself out of the chair. He slowly walks to the side of my bed and leans close until he is within inches of my face. "It really would have been nice to add your child to the growing collection in my dungeon though. Seems unfair that I must limit myself to what little family you have left. It truly is sad how small how small yours is; just your mother, the adorable sister of yours―Prim was it?―, the incredibly handsome cousin, and Peeta of course."

The smell of blood and roses fills my nose and fear grips my aching brain. This can't be right. I ball my hands into fists, hoping that the pain of my fingernails slicing through my skin will wake me up from my latest nightmare. Hoping that I will wake up screaming with Peeta's arms wrapped around me, making me feel more safe than I had since my father had died. I feel myself slowly slipping into the waiting darkness.

"Oh, and Katniss, you haven't even seen my surprise yet. I am saving it for when you're stronger. Wouldn't want you dying during interrogation now would we?" His sickening smile is the last thing I see as I let myself slide back into the nightmare riddled mess that is my unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time I open my eyes I am no longer in the hospital. I am now in a poorly lit room that, by the smell of it, it most likely at least a mile below ground. There is nothing in the room except on the walls. Covering the walls are shackles, however I am not restrained. There are no visible doors, windows, or cameras, but I know I am being watched.

I have been pacing around the room, looking like a caged animal I am sure, for what feels like forever when Snow enters the room. He is not alone. "Wow, I am flattered." I spit at him through my clenched teeth.

"You should be. I don't visit just any prisoner."

"Wasn't talking about your personal appearance; although I will add it to the things I will be eternally thankful for. I was referring to the two towering men that have accompanied you. The big bad wolf is afraid of a little girl like me? Who would have been able to guess that?"

He laughs and presses a button on a remote that I just had noticed he was holding. Just as I was wondering what the button could possibly do, I heard it. An ear-piercing and familiar scream.

"Prim?" I scream, running for the wall it was coming through. I start throwing myself against the cold, hard, unyielding stone. "What are you doing to her?" I turn to Snow and begin run towards him. "I will kill you!" But before I can reach him I am caught by the nearest tree-of-a-man. He encircles me in his arms, holding me with an iron grip. I fight him, kicking, scratching, and biting every bit of exposed skin. Prim's screams continue as I try to force the huge man off my small frame.

I catch his eye with my fingernail and his grip loosens and I free myself from his arms and beeline towards Snow. I am rewarded by a quick flash of fear before I feel the prick and my head explodes.

I fall to the ground clutching my head. I know immediately from experience that they have injected me with Tracker Jacker venom. The world explodes in a burst of shiny colors and I no longer can tell what is real and what is the Tracker Jacker venom.

I am hoping it is the Tracker Jacker venom that is causing me to hear the horrible gut-wrenching screams coming from where I can only imagine Prim is.

"Please," I beg, "please stop. Let her go and I will do anything. This is not her fault, its mine. Let her go. Let them all go. Please just send them back to District Twelve."

A sickening laugh comes from nowhere, filling the room. "I wish I could do that Katniss, but District 12 is gone. There is nothing left of your home anymore. No one and nowhere to send them back to. And trust me Katniss, you will do what I want whether I let them go or not."

My knees give way as this new information slowly travels through my poisoned mind. Gone? It can't be gone. All those people, all those homes, all those families destroyed, because of me. I was poison, infecting not only the people I love, but also anyone who is at all associated with me in the smallest way. I think of all of my friends at Hobs, about Madge and her family, about Gale's entire family, about all of the people of District twelve.

"Take me to Prim! I have to see her!" I meant for it to be a scream, but it was barely audible as I forced the words out my dry throat.

"Not just yet Katniss. We are in no hurry. Besides you haven't even seen my surprise yet."

I crawl to the nearest corner and rest my head on my knees, and fell asleep with my hands firmly covering my ears; protecting myself from anymore horrible words Snow could send into my room and my venom haunted dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

There is no passing of time in this prison. When I need food or water I am knocked out and wake up with a needle mark in my arm. I know I have been down here for a while because my head no longer aches from the concussion I received and the place on my arm where Johanna tried to kill me no longer has that shiny new scar look.

Snow has not visited me since the first day I got here, but whenever I stand up or even move from my corner the screams come through the wall with disturbing clarity. So now I just sit in my corner with my knees curled into my chest.

I have just begun to accept that their master plan is to watch me slowly rot in this position, when the piece of wall I know to be the door slides open.

The two towering guards from before enter first, and to my satisfaction the one I scratched still has the marks to prove it. Then Snow enters with the same disturbing smile he always wears. I wonder if the only smile he has or if he saves this particular expression just for me.

"I know that I promised you a surprise, and since you have been so well behaved I thought that it was time I delivered on that particular promise."

His words sent chills down my spine, but I didn't move. I just stayed in my corner, knees curled into my chest. "Oh good I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me."

He just laughed and nodded to the guards, who whispered something I couldn't catch into their earpieces. The door slides open again and two more body guards enter, carrying the mangled body of a man in between them. It wasn't until he was lying on the floor that I got a good look at his face, and even through the dried blood, swelling, and cuts I knew who it was.

"Cinna," even I could hear the despair in my voice. I get up to move towards him, and am immediately rewarded with the screams of Peeta. I sit back down quickly, throwing my hands over my ears like a little girl, and wait for the screams to stop. I try not to think of what they must be doing to Peeta to make him scream that way.

"Cinna here has been holding out on you. They all were actually. I guess we are not the only people who use children as pieces to our own benefit. I thought it would mean more to you coming from your beloved stylist though." He kicks Cinna when he doesn't respond. I cringe at the sound that escapes Cinna's mouth; more wounded animals than man.

"I'm so sorry Katniss. This is not what was supposed to happen. You aren't supposed to be here. You were supposed to be in District 13, you were supposed to be safe." This voice didn't belong to the strong Cinna who I had watched being dragged away, this voice belonged to someone who had nothing left to hope for. The sound of it hurt more than any weapon ever could. It made me want to go to him, to comfort him, but I couldn't. I was stuck, huddled in my corner. Then his words hit me.

"What do you mean Cinna? Why would I be in District 13?" Then I remember the women in the woods and the news footage with the same mockingbird flying across the corner. "So it's not gone then? It really does exist?"

"Yes, they were supposed to save you. They were supposed to get you from the arena once the force field was disabled. They were supposed to help you lead a rebellion." His eyes lock with mine and he holds them with all the strength he has, pleading with me to understand why he used me.

I try to make myself feel anger at this betrayal, but I can't. I'm so confused. Who orchestrated this? Is this why all the other victors were protecting Peeta? Why they had been willing to die so that he could live. Could all these people really be that stupid? How am I supposed to lead a rebellion? I wasn't special. The only time people had even liked me was when I was standing next to Peeta.

"I can't lead a rebellion. Everyone I try to help ends up dead. They have my family Cinna. They have Peeta and Gale. I am poison." I fight back the tears that are prickling behind my eyes. How was it that Cinna could always so effortlessly make me say what I don't even know I am feeling? I bury my face in my knees and take deep breaths until I can trust my voice not to shake and my eyes not to tear.

But, it is not Cinna's voice that brings my head up, it's Snow's. "It seems as though I haven't given you enough credit. Turns out you do have a brain. This who time I thought Haymitch was the brains, Peeta was the heart, and you were just the brawn. I have yet again underestimated you. No need to worry about that now though. You are going to be locked down here where your poison can't spread for the remainder of you short life."

I wasn't focused on him though. I was looking at Cinna. He was trying to tell me something without letting Snow know what he wanted me to know. I shook my head slightly as if trying to clear it. Cinna got the message and he looked around with some newfound strength and saw that all the guards were focused on me. No doubt due to the fact that Snow is close enough for me to touch. He looks at me and mouths something I couldn't understand.

He must have been to tell by the look in my eyes because he mouths it again much more slowly. This time I get it. The words he mouthed fill me with such a sense of relief that I feel like dancing. He had mouthed 'They only have Peeta'.


	4. Chapter 4

They did not have family. They did not have Gale. The relief that flooded through my body was better than any Capitol medicine they could give me. I don't care how Cinna knows this All i care about is that Cinna must know they are somewhere safe from the Capitol, and this is the greatest gift i have ever been given. I work hard to keep my face devoid of any emotion as I process this information.

"Unfortunately, we have not received all of the information we need from your beloved designer." Snow says, bringing my attention back to him.

"Well unfortunately I just found out about all of this right now so I don't know how you expect me to be able to tell you anything." The whole thing confuses me. Why would Snow let Cinna tell me this? Why would Snow want me to know there are people out there willing to fight? What is his game plan? Snow never does anything by accident, so this must have a purpose.

Snow simply laughs and continues. "We are not currently discussing what you know. We will have plenty of time for that later. We _are _however talking about what Cinna is not telling us. We have tried various means of extracting this information, but I am growing bored. I need my answers now. "

I look at Cinna in horror, but there is nothing but defiance in his voice as he whispers "I'm still betting on you my little mockingjay."

And just like that it's like the room melts away and we are back before my first Hunger Games. I feel myself smile slightly without even thinking. My mind snaps back to reality as I hear a groan.

There are two guards standing over Cinna. One of them has something in his hand that looks like a metal stick. The groan came from Cinna, the metal stick had shocked him and now he was laying nearly motionless on the floor.

"Stop! What are you doing? Leave him alone!" I am screaming and on my feet before I can think better of it. I am again rewarded by the screams of my sister Prim, but now I know they aren't real. The terrible screams no longer hold any power over me, because they are an illusion. Just like the mockingjays in the arena, these screams are not my sister.

I throw myself at the guard with the metal stick, and am rewarded with a shock that knocks the air out of my lungs and temporarily removes my ability to breathe. I sink to my knees, regaining my breath, and come face to face with Cinna.

"Still unwilling to give us the information?" Snow asks pleasure unmistakable in his tone.

Cinna remains quiet, eyes locked on mine, and they shock him again. He lies motionless for what seems like hours before I notice that he is at least still breathing.

"Please stop, he doesn't know anything else. He would have told you by now. What has he possibly got to gain by not talking? Their plan failed. Why would he keep information from you?" I am begging not with Snow but with the guard holding the metal stick. I know that Snow will not care one way or another, but this guard, this guard might not be such a cold-hearted, evil, snake of a man as Snow. I watch as his eyes waver, but so does Snow. He grabs the stick from the guard and shocks Cinna for much longer than the guard had.

I stand up and lunge for Snow. He shocks me repeatedly sending horrible pain through my entire body, but I grit my teeth, dig my fingernails into my palms and do my best not to scream. When I can no longer pick myself off the ground Snow leaves.

"Take Katniss to the other room, and then get rid of that body." He says as he is walking out of the room.

Confused by what he has said I look around. What body could he be talking about? It's only when I meet Cinna's lifeless eyes that I realize who he was talking about.

It takes me a minute to remember how to function. Ultimately it is the guard's hands that remind me. They grip my shoulders and under my arms as they lift me up off my place on the ground. I begin to kick my legs and struggle to twist out of their strong grasps. I am halfway to the door when my foot connects with a knee cap and the guard on my right drops to the floor gripping him knee. I twist out of the second guard's grip and run for the door. There is a third guard waiting for me outside the door though, and this one isn't taking his chances.

Pain radiates through my head and nose as his fist connects with my face. I feel blood dripping down my face, but I keep moving. I run in the opposite direction of the guard, but I am dizzy and can barely keep myself standing. The guard catches me by the wrist and when I try to pull free I hear a loud snap and a new pain shoots up my arm.

The guard grabs hold of my greasy, messy braid that has been in my hair since I arrived here and drags me to a new door and throws me inside, shutting the door behind me.

All the fight has left me and I use what little energy I have to crawl to the nearest corner. Once there I sit with my back against the wall and pull my knees in close. I am about to fall asleep clutching my wrist in my lap, when I hear a raspy voice that scares me so bad I jump.

"Katniss? Is that you?"

I look around the room searching for the owner of the voice, but I already know who it is. I would've known that voice anywhere. I am just stupidly hoping that it might be someone else, when I see his blue eyes and blond hair sitting across the room from me. "Peeta?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Peeta? Is that really you?" I blink tears out of my eyes, and try to see through the dimly lit room. I wipe the tears from my face, ignoring my screaming nose, and curse myself. I hate crying.

Peeta stands up and crosses the room and kneels in front of me. Now that he is closer I can see that he has a black eye and his cheek is swollen and sliced open. I reach out and lightly touch his black eye. "I'm so sorry." I say, and another wave of tears begins to flow from my eyes.

Peeta shakes his head and cups my face in his hands. He wipes away the tears with his thumbs and kisses my forehead before resting his forehead on mine. "This is not your fault." We sit like this until I am no longer shaking and crying. When I am finally still Peeta pulls away and looks at me. "Your nose is broken. You're going to have to tell how to fix it."

I slowly reach up and feel my nose. He is right, but we both know he will not be able to reset my nose. I quickly snap it back into place and groan as blood begins rushing down my face again. Peeta takes off his shirt and holds it under my nose. It stops bleeding quickly and he removes the shirt from my face. I gasp as I see his chest.

His chest is covered in long cuts and horrible burn marks. Deep purple bruises cover most of his body. He follows my eyes and he smiles lightly. "It looks at lot worse than it is."

I can't even look at him. He is in pain because of me, and he won't even admit it. He's always trying to protect me; always trying to put me first. Instead I look at my wrist. I can tell it's been dislocated. I had seen my mother fix so many dislocations that I barely think before I pop my wrist back in.

"What happened Katniss?"

I look up and see worry in his eyes. I open my mouth to speak and all that comes out is a small sob. I feel Peeta's arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer. I bury my face in his shoulder and sob. "They killed Cinna. Snow killed him right in front of me." I don't have to look at his face to see how angry he is; I feel his shoulders tighten and he is quiet for a long time. Neither of us knows what to say, so we sit like this for a while until eventually we both drift off to sleep.

I am awakened with a jolt as the door slides open. I silently nudge Peeta, but he is already awake. The smell of roses drifts into the room long before Snow walks in.

"Young love; how beautiful. If only such things were meant to last." I am once again overcome with the urge to puke as he puts on his most hideous smile. "But we have other plans for the two of you."

I stand up, untangling myself from Peeta, and I am relieved that Peeta is standing right behind me. "What are you going to do? Execute us in front of all of Panem and show the rebels how weak they are."

"And make you two martyrs, please Katniss, you know me better than that." He laughed and took a step forward. "No we are going to make you renounce all claims to the rebellion. You will tell the whole world what foolish children you really are."

"We both know that Katniss will never agree to that." Peeta says from behind me. I open my mouth to speak, but what can I say? Peeta is right, I am not going to say these things, so I just close my mouth and wait for what I know will come next.

Snow just smiles and four guards enter the room. They walk past Snow and grab us before I even have time to react. They dragged us both to the wall with shackles on them and they bolted us to the wall. We struggled to get free but it is not use. The next man to enter has an entire cart full of the scariest tools in the whole Capitol. The man barely takes a step towards me when Peeta, sounding so frantic it hurt says, "I'll do it. I will say whatever you want. If you don't touch her I will say anything."

I look at him, shocked into silence by the desperation in his tone. He is not looking at me though, he is looking at Snow. Snow is smiling, and I realize why. This is what he wanted, he wanted Peeta. Snow knew that Peeta could convince a group of people of anything, where I on the other hand couldn't lie to save my life. We had already proven that quite effectively. Snow knew that I could not convince Panem that I was against a revolution, just as I had not been able to convince them that I was in love with Peeta. When I turned back to Peeta I knew that I had come to this realization long after he had, and that frustrated me.

"Splendid, we will start arrangements right away." He looked like he had just won the lottery. Which in all fairness, he probably had. He turned on his heels and strolled out of the room.

When everyone had left, and we had been unshackled, I said, "Peeta, you don't have to do this. I will be fine."

"What about me? Imagine our roles reversed. Imagine if they were torturing me. Would you let them, or would you do everything in your power to make it stop?" His eyes were pleading with me, begging me to understand what he had done. The thing is I wasn't sure whether I was mad at him for doing it or mad at myself because he was right.


End file.
